What Did You do to Him?
by LizzyLucky
Summary: SEASON 2 SPOILERS! "The same thing I'm going to do to you." Colonel Kubritz said. Aja and Krel, having been lured to the school in order to be captured by Area 49B, are separated momentarily. When Aja wakes, Krel is brought into the room unconscious. Aja demands to know what's happened to her littler brother. This, is just one possibility. Warning: 100% Krel Whump! (Torture)
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I'm back! Ish! I'm stupid busy a lot of the time, but I just watched Season 2 of 3Below and couldn't help but to write a little something.

First off, please forgive me! You know that scene where Aja wakes up in the Gym, strapped to a bed? Colonel Kubritz comes in and has Krel dumped and strapped to another bed, still unconscious. Well, Aja asks, "What did you do to him?" and Colonel Kubritz responds with something along the lines of "The same thing I'm going to do to you!"

Well, Krel is my favourite character, and I love writing whump for some cruel reason, and because they never really explained this_, these two lines in this particular situation gave me an absolutely perfect prompting_. I mean, seriously, was there a better potential whump moment left this creatively open anywhere else in the entire season? In the entire series?

Anyway, that same episode is the one in which this story takes place, and, obviously, this is just one very… creative idea for what might have happened to Krel. Sorry, Krel, you're really about to go through the ringer, friend!

Please tell me what you think of it! I would be thrilled! Every review is a cookie I'll make special for Krel to help him feel better!

(Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and the writing. Also, thank you for taking a look at my story!)

-LizzyLucky

* * *

"Tell me where they are!" Colonel Kubritz bellowed, arms tucked behind her back.

"No!" Krel squirmed under the constraints keeping him on the uncomfortable bed, glaring defiantly at the rotund woman.

"I don't think you understand me," Kubritz continued, pulling something from behind her back. "I am not _asking_ for your cooperation!"

"I don't care if you are asking or not," Krel seethed. "You will not get _anything _from me!"

"Let's try this again," Kubritz said smoothly, stepping toward Krel. He inched away and watched warily as she held up what looked like a… taser? "This," she said, "is not an ordinary gun."

"Clearly not," Krel stated, looking more closely. There were neon grippings and small inscriptions clearly written in an alien dialect on it. The side of the device also had a dial sticking out, with numbers ranging from 0 to 10 all around it.

"I must admit, this is a recently acquired piece of technology," Kubritz said, holding it up to the light for examination. Krel watched as she began to circle him.

"We have had very little time to discover its exact uses and levels of power." Kubritz glanced down at Krel, who seemed to be examining the item curiously. "By the looks of things, you don't know much about this little trinket, either. I can tell you it won't kill you. But…" Kuritz paused and took another step forward, leaning directly over Krel. Krel swallowed and leaned as far away as he could; even her breath felt invading.

"It's not exactly harmless." Without any other warning, Kubritz shoved the end of the device into Krel's stomach, turning it on for no more than a second. Krel let out a yelp as an electric shock traveled through his abdomen in an instant, leaving an unpleasantly warm and tingling sensation in its wake.

"I will not ask again!" Kubritz yelled. "Tell me where your ship is and where the rest of your alien allies are hiding, and _maybe _I'll let you live!"

Krel drew in a shaky breath and steeled himself against Kubritz' cold expression. "I will never tell you!" he declared.

Kubritz laughed loudly, surprising Krel, and held the device just above his chest. She leaned over his face, the very epitome of insanity in Krel's mind, and turned the device onto a low setting so as to create a menacing sound. Krel swallowed thickly, eyes flicking between the device and Colonel Kubritz' face. He could feel the heat radiating off the electric charge only inches from his chest.

"I have no empathy for you whatsoever," Kubritz said seriously, all expressions of laughter disappearing in an instant. Her voice radiated threat and Krel almost whimpered at the look on her face, leaning, if it were at all possible, farther away still. "I will not hesitate to use this."

To emphasize her point, Kubritz stuck the end of the weapon back to Krel's stomach and held it there, watching with delight as he squirmed and bit his lip to halt another cry. This seemed to turn her mood again and she smiled pleasantly, as though this were nothing more than an every-day, casual activity; it was a game to her.

Finally, she removed the device, chuckling when Krel let out a breathy whine.

"It's only a matter of time, Krel!" She said loudly. She held her head high and marched to Krel's other side. "If you don't tell me, your sister will be next!" Krel lurched.

"No!" He exclaimed in horror. Kubritz grinned delightedly at having struck a chord.

"You've a soft spot for your sister, haven't you?" Kubritz tantalized him. "I suppose you'll want to do all you can to keep her out of harm's way." Kubritz again begin to circle around Krel, who watched anxiously while she held the tazer high. "She's already been compromised, you realize. My men are standing by, waiting for to wake up to this very same fate!"

"Leave Aja alone!" Krel spat, glaring at his captor. "Leave us both alone!" He added. "We have done nothing to harm you or your planet!"

"That's not the point!" Kubritz growled and jumped at Krel with murder in her eyes. Krel's eyes widened as he watched her and he began to breathe heavily. "The second you entered our atmosphere, stole a place on a planet that does not belong to you, and tried to pass yourselves off as not just other people, but an entirely different species, you became our _enemies!_ You invaded our home, no matter how minimally, and until you are off this planet or _dead_, I. will. not. rest!"

With another exclamation of rage, Kubritz stuck the device back into Krel's stomach, but this time did not remove it. Krel struggled against his restraints, gasping as the sensation intensified.

"You might wonder about my methods, here," Kubritz drawled. She removed the device momentarily so as to walk to Krel's other side, then replaced it nearer his waist. Krel let out another cry, flinching violently.

"I've learned a few things about you, you know," Kubritz continued. "I know, for one, that your core resides in your chest, just as a human's heart might. Too much damage to the chest and you essentially die. I would never get my information that way."

She removed the device again, leaving Krel panting heavily and groaning, and walked around him again, replacing the device once more.

"And if I went for your head, you would pass out! That would defeat the point of this entire operation!"

Krel tried to argue or make a quip and found that all he could do was drag air in and out of his lungs as the device sent spasms through his entire torso.

"Of course," Kubritz said, "your four arms and your two legs would make for _wonderful _physical sensory overload. But then watching you squirm wouldn't be nearly as fun." Kubritz laughed deeply, watching Krel's face as it contorted with discomfort and anger.

He eventually gasped and began opening his mouth, forming broken words. "You won't- ah- you won't- ah!" He grit his teeth frustratedly, finding that the spasms caused by the gun made it difficult to speak.

Interested in what he might say, Colonel Kubritz removed the taser and turned to Krel expectantly. She smirked at him, knowing that he was afraid.

"You won't get anything from me," Krel finally said, breathing unevenly. "You can hurt me all you want but-" He paused to grunt as a wave of pain coursed through his stomach. "...Aja and I will protect our people and our values, with our lives! You will never learn the location of Mother, or our parents, or our friends or our planet! I will give you nothing, and you will never have that information! Never!" Krel proclaimed this proudly, glaring determinedly at the ceiling and panting still.

Kubritz was enraged by this. This infuriating creature had more stupidity and guts than she had credited him for, and he was pushing her buttons! He had done nothing but cause her grief, and if he wasn't going to answer her questions, she was at least going to see him suffer!

"Then you will not leave this room whole," she said angrily. Krel glanced at her and whimpered as she held up the same weapon. It was now he noticed that it had been on setting 1 this entire time. Kubritz grabbed the small dial and turned it up to 4.

"No, no, no, please-" Krel began to struggle against his restraints again. Setting 1 on its own caused intense discomfort, he didn't know that he could-

"Too late!" Kubritz said, shoving the device back town.

This time a far more intense sensation attacked Krel's nervous system, with a strong, burning heat alongside it. He realized that the higher settings were paired with more extreme temperatures and that it was burning his skin as much as it was overstimulating his nerve endings.

"Stop!" He cried, eyes watering. "Please, stop!" Kubritz showed no sign that she'd even heard him until he let out a prolonged cry of pain.

"Tell me, then!" She demanded, pressing the device more firmly into Krel's stomach.

"N-no!" Krel's entire frame began to tremble as the device sent ripples of electricity down his body. His energy was draining and he couldn't concentrate anymore. He was afraid he might blurt out the very information he promised Kubritz she couldn't have in his unconscious desire for the pain to go away.

"Stop!" He cried again, this time as loudly as he could manage. Kubritz only laughed. It seemed to Krel that her motive now was just to hurt him and that getting information would only have been a plus.

"I will show you no mercy if you will show me no cooperation!" Kubritz yelled. She lifted the device once more, the burning and tingling after-effect suddenly seeming heavenly to Krel, and ran to his other side again, slamming the gun back to its place so harshly that Krel screamed at the intensity of it.

"No!" He cried, fighting the restraints increasingly more weakly. Kubritz leaned over and hovered by the side of his face.

"I only wish your sister were conscious to see you squirm."

At that, Krel began to sob, knowing full well that it was probably exactly what Kubritz wanted. He and Aja were so vulnerable and he was helpless to do anything about it!

Kubritz' grin began to widen and she pressed one thumb against the dial of the gun. She ever-so-slowly began to raise the setting up to 7, leaving it there when Krel began to cry so harshly that he seemed to be struggling to breathe. At this point, there were spots dancing in his vision and the pain and heat were becoming so intense that he could feel the top layer of his skin burning away. He was so exhausted and in so much pain that he couldn't even control his voice long enough to beg for mercy.

"Colonel!" A man entered the room and came to a halt, addressing Kubritz.

"What?" Kubritz demanded angrily, whipping around to face the man. Krel felt the worst of the pain fade and was so relieved and exhausted that he just kept crying. He felt tears soak into his hair and some puddle on the bed where his head lay. And maybe it was just his exhaustion speaking, but he could have sworn for a minute that the man at the doorway looked down at him piteously.

"The alien girl is beginning to wake up." The man said, glancing between Kubritz and Krel anxiously. He somehow felt bad for the extraterrestrial laying in the room with his ruthless boss. He was beginning to question whether Colonel Kubritz really was doing the right thing…

"Good." Kubritz hummed approvingly. "You will stay here and keep guard over _this one_," she paused, grinding out the words with utmost disgust and hatred, "until I return. I believe his _sister _would be interested to see him."

"Yes, ma'am." The man said hesitantly.

"Don't…" Krel began. Kubritz turned around slowly and watched Krel amusedly. "Don't… h-hurt Aja…" He said with some effort. "She won't tell you… e-either." With this, Kubritz glared one last time at Krel, utterly enraged. She walked briskly up to him, eliciting a whimper of fear from Krel, and glowered at the helpless being.

"I will get my information one way or another."

With that, Kubritz lifted the gun, spun the dial all the way to 10 and pointed it at Krel, whose eyes went wide.

"No! Don't! I'm begging you, please!" Krel cried out desperately, sobbing again in pure anticipation. Kubritz grinned wickedly and felt herself hoping that maybe Aja would hear her brother's torment through their supposedly sound-proof rooms. She began to slowly lower the gun and watched as Krel became frantic.

"Please, no! No, no, no! Stop! Aja!" Krel sobbed and squished as far away from Kubritz as was possible from his standpoint. He called out as loudly as his lungs would allow, "Aja, help! Don't do this! Mama! Papa! Somebody help! Please! Please don't, I can't take anymore-!"

"I'm counting on it." Kubritz said. Having delivered her final message, she shoved the gun's end into the center of Krel's stomach, and listened as he released an ear-splitting cry of agony that shattered even the soldier's heart. At long last, Krel passed out from the pain, and Kubritz left the room as the now peaceful-looking Akiridion slept to go confront the other as she woke.

* * *

I told you! I know I told you! I told you! I said I was mean! I said that Krel was gonna go through the ringer! I told you!

Really though, I'm kind of exasperated with myself, even, for this. I mean, I don't wanna become too egocentric or anything, but I think I did a fairly decent job of depicting this mess. I'm tugging at my own heart-strings in this one-shot, so gosh dang it.

Did I do alright? Did I make Kubritz evil? Did it seem like, if it were not for the need to be child-friendly, it could have been canon? Was Krel in character? Was there enough dialogue? Was it descriptive enough? Did I accurately depict physical pain? Was I absolutely terrible to Krel? Did I tell you so?

I'll answer that one; I told you so! I told you!

But really, I would genuinely be interested in what you guys thought of it, and I am always very eager to get some critique on my writing and my character portrayal. I require nothing, but don't forget that Krel totally gets a home-made cookie for every review… We gotta cheer him up!

Thanks so much for coming to read my story guys! I think this was a really good exercise for me, and I enjoyed coming up with something to fill one of the many, many, MANY mysteries this show has left us with. _Many._

Thank you!

-LizzyLucky


	2. Chapter 2

SURPRISE! There's only like, 3 people who probably _actually _knew that I was gonna update this, but here we are! Update! New chapter! This is the point at which I start to stray from the timeline and go my own direction. That's about all I have to say for it right now, so, let's jump right in! Thanks, guys!

-LizzyLucky

* * *

Colonel Kubritz paused just outside the doorway, a new thought occurring to her. She played with it for a moment, then turned back around and pushed the door to the room half way open.

"Bring him," she stated firmly, directing it at the man she appointed as Krel's guard. The man nodded wordlessly and watched her turn out of the room. As soon as the door had closed, he turned down to the Akiridion Prince and unfastened the restraints quickly.

He imagined suddenly that he could wake the boy and help him escape, but shook the concept out of his mind as soon as it had come. Kubritz would've had his head, and he didn't know whether these guys were really as harmless as the one he was now lifting off the bed appeared to be.

As Kubritz caught sight of Aja's room, she let herself grin and pulled her arms behind her back, to appear more put together. She turned the corner and stopped when she realized that her other guest was present.

Tronos was zipping all around Aja's room, dragging his claws around the outside for effect.

"...think I care about crestons? I'm doing this to avenge Voltar," he was saying.

Oh, this was good. Tronos had no problem explaining his beef with the Akiridions, and Kubritz knew that what he had to say would warm Aja up for her perfectly.

Faintly, Aja could be heard saying, "Voltar was destroyed long ago." Tronos froze for a second, anger barely contained.

"Thanks to your parents." He said this coolly, making it clear to Aja that he blamed her family. "They helped destroy my home world," he clarified, continuing his movement. Aja continued to struggle from inside her room and glared at him.

"Liar!" She yelled defiantly. "My parents are honorable!"

This seemed to be the tipping point for Tronos, who lost his temper and zapped himself inside the room, leering directly over Aja.

"NOT, as honorable as you think!" He bellowed. Kubritz took this as her opportunity to enter and did so silently, beckoning a hazmatted worker to take Krel from the first man. She walked in quietly and watched approvingly as the worker all but dumped Krel's limp form onto the table. Aja noticed this instantly and gasped at the rough treatment of her brother.

"Krel!" She exclaimed, struggling against her bonds to reach him. She examined him a moment longer and took note of the tear tracks down his cheeks. She felt anger bubble from inside her core and turned to face the perpetrator.

"What did you do to him!?" She demanded. Kubritz felt herself becoming excited as Aja became increasingly more agitated. She chuckled lowly and walked steadily toward the small table between the Tarrons' beds while the worker tied Krel's restraints.

"The same thing I'm going to do to you." She said, not bothering to mask her eagerness. Tronos chuckled lowly and disappeared in a zap of light as Kubritz guided one hand slowly and deliberately to the small table, picking up what Aja belatedly realized was her serrator. "With your weaponry in my hands, I'll be able to wipe every last alien threat from existence..." She paused, holding the serrator up. She activated its blade and lifted the weapon high over her head, then brought it swiftly down onto the table, which was effortlessly cut in half.

"... for good!"

Aja swallowed hard. A woman with this kind of insanity really shouldn't be in possession of any kind of weapon.

"Akiridion technology is meant to ensure peace, not bloodshed!" She said, glowering at Colonel Kubritz.

Before Kubritz could comment or cut something else in half, a quiet, harsh, coughing sound caught both their attentions. Aja turned to look sharply to her left and saw her little brother's consciousness restored.  
"Krel!" She exclaimed. Her vigor in fighting her restraints was restored and she began to pull at them again in an attempt to get to her brother.

"Aja?" Krel mumbled, blinking a couple times. He looked disoriented and confused, just now taking in the situation. Then, as he caught sight of Colonel Kubritz, his entire frame seemed to register fear and he tried to sit up against his restraints. He groaned and fell lax against the bed, grimacing. Something was wrong with him.

"It's okay, little brother!" Aja said, trying to comfort him. She offered him a reassuring smile, but knew that she probably looked more worried than anything. Krel looked at her and seemed to breathe a little easier knowing she was there.

"Once I finish dissecting you," Kubritz interrupted, "Mr. Madu will get your _remains_ and his bounty, and _I'll_ get the technology that you leave behind." As she said this, she lifted the serrator again and gazed at it almost lovingly. Aja shuddered.

"Remains?" Krel whispered fearfully. Aja looked at him from the corner of her eye and tried to give him a sympathetic look. His wide eyes and pale complexion were setting off one too many alarms in her head.

"What happened, Krel?" Aja asked him gently. "What did she _do_ to you?" Krel opened his mouth to answer and then closed it, swallowing instead.

"Nothing he didn't earn," Colonel Kubritz said, forcing both siblings to abruptly remember her presence. She glowered down at both of them, now holding a strange gun in her left hand. Krel flinched so hard that the bed he lay on made a clanging sound, and Kubritz looked down at him with a smile that twisted Aja's gut.

"I believe _you_ are already quite familiar with this device," Kubritz said, giving the taser a slight shake. "Your sister, however-"

"Don't touch her!" Krel burst out with surprising confidence in his voice. Aja was looking between the two of them, completely appalled. What was being implied? Had Kubritz actually _used_ this thing on her brother?

"Then give me the information!" Kubritz said, turning to face Krel, who shied away from her as best he could.

"What information?" Aja asked dumbly. She should have been terrified, and she was, for Krel, but now she was just confused. It was almost like she forgot to be afraid. That is, until Kubritz turned in her direction instead. The gun had been turned on and an electrical current ran at its tip, sizzling and producing visible waves of thermal energy.

"I want the location of your alien allies, your mothership, and your homeworld!" Kubritz supplied, walking up to Aja and standing over he, boasting her full height. The light in the room was hidden just behind Aja's view of the Colonel's head and created a menacing shadow. And it was now that she noticed a dial on the side of the gun, with numbers from 0 to 10 circling around it. It looked to be on either 4 or 5, but Aja's perspective was off and she dared not look at the device any longer than she had to.

"We will not tell you!" Krel said from the other side of the room. Kubritz looked over her shoulder, raising a brow, and gazed at him as though she were bored. "I will not tell you, and Aja will not tell you! It's not any of your business!"

Kubritz' eyes lit up with rage and Krel visibly shuddered. She looked for a moment as though she would turn around and strangle him but opted to turn back to Aja instead.

"I'm certain," She began, lowering the still active gun to hover just above Aja's stomach, "we could come to an agreement."

Aja struggled once more to escape her bondage and stared warily at the gun. All at once, Kubritz dropped the end of the device onto Aja's stomach and threw her free hand down on top of one of Aja's left arms, eliciting a shriek from the elder Akiridion and a cracking sound from her wrist.

"No!" Krel cried, struggling against his restraints also. The gun was removed and Kubritz looked smugly at her victims. Krel relaxed somewhat and whimpered, breathing hard. Aja, though focusing more on the intense burning sensation left on her abdomen and the ache in what she now assumed to be her sprained wrist, chanced a glance at her brother, who was breathless and still had a pained grimace on his face.

"Perhaps…" Kubritz began, turning around lazily, "we should try something a little more interesting." She gently set the small gun down and grabbed Aja's serrator instead. Aja felt enraged at this and gave Kubritz her best glare, though her eyes were still watering from the pain.

"Aja…" Krel said quietly, looking over at her. The look on his face seemed to be asking if she was alright, and though she didn't feel it, Aja smiled back to tell him she was.

A flash of blue caught her attention and she looked up to see Kubritz holding her serrator, activated to reveal a large blade.

"Put down my serrator!" Aja couldn't help herself from yelling out. That was _her _weapon! That was _hers!_

"_You!_ Are in _no_ position to make demands!" Kubritz bellowed, swinging the serrator and stopping it inches from Aja's nose. Aja froze and stared at the weapon, terrified to move, and watched as Kubritz slowly took it back. The woman transitioned seamlessly from enraged and frazzled to almost _bubbly_ as she turns to face Krel again.

"This is an incredible weapon, really," she said smoothly. Krel watched her nervously while Kubritz examined the Akiridion technology. "It seems to produce small amounts of heat on its own, yet is completely composed of a form of energy that our planet has yet to harness or even understand." With that, she strode up to Krel's bed and threw the blade's tip into the mattress. Krel let out a startled yelp and Aja cried out for what she feared would have been her brother's death.

"If this serrator can slice so easily through metal," she began, grabbing the blade's handel and dragging it ever so slowly closer to Krel's head, "imagine what it can do to your bodies."

Krel watched the blade with increasing nervousness and Aja began fighting her restraints anew. The blade inched closer, a sizzling sound accompanying it as it sliced through the material. Krel glanced up at Kubritz and swallowed.

"No," he said with an anxious chuckle. "No, no, no. Heh. No need to imagine. I am sure," he paused again, looking up with an almost pleading look in his eye, "it would hurt, _really_ bad."

Aja saw a flash of the image of Krel with a serrator stuck in his head in her mind and felt herself start to panic. She glanced over at her little brother, who was struggling and running out of space to squeeze away from the blade, and began to squirm even harder. These restraints were so simple, there had to be some way out she wasn't thinking of!

"Only one way to find out." Kubritz said slowly, grinning while Krel squirmed and made faces at the weapon.

"Colonel Kubritz!" Someone in a hazmat suit burst through the doors, sliding to a stop and looking winded just behind Kubritz.

"What!?" Kubritz bellowed, whipping around with the blade still in her hand. As it was yanked from the bed Krel lay on, it slid across his cheek, cutting it and causing Krel to cry out.

"Krel!" Aja sat up as much as was possible and glanced at him worriedly.

"Someone… uh, _ambushed_, us, and let all of the students escape the classroom we held them in!"

"That's impossible! I had four of you on guard for that!" Kubritz growled at the man, pointing the serrator in her hands at him. He put both hands up in surrender.

"I know, but there are three of those kids coming this way! They're overpowering us, and you know we can't shoot civilians! I think they want the Tarrons!"

Kubritz let out an enraged shout and walked toward the man, with the blade out in front of her, prompting him to step back until his back was against the door.

"They're high schoolers! How are they overpowering you!?"

"Well one of them has this huge hammer, and the tall one next to him is like, on the football team or something, I dunno-"

"Steve!" Aja cheered from behind the two.

"Toby!" Krel cheered at almost the same time. They shared an excited glance with each other.

"Contain them," Kubritz said coldly, standing straight again and recomposing herself. "And do _not_ let them get in." The man nodded frantically, whimpering, and ran back out the door to do as he'd been told.

"Now. Where were we?" Kubritz began, walking back toward Krel. Just as she was reaching forward with the blade again, a shout was heard outside the doors. She turned around half way to glance curiously in the direction of the shout and was mildly surprised to hear a number of shouts more, followed by multiple thumps and slams.

The sounds all stopped at once and all three beings in the room paused to listen just when the doors were thrown open to reveal Toby, Steve, and Eli.

"Looks like class is-" Toby began, though the door began to close before he could finish. Aja and Krel glanced at each other, then back at the door, which went flying back open.

"Class is dis-"

It closed again.

One final time, Toby threw open the doors, but this time far enough that they stayed open on their own.

"Class is dismissed. It's dismissed!" He insisted, hunkering down with his hammer to strike a cool pose. Eli, behind him, shook his head, and Steve just ignored him altogether.

Krel looked up from his spot and gave a worried glance to his friends. "Is that Toby?" He wondered aloud.

"Steve!" Aja exclaimed again, perking up quite noticeably.

"My Warrior Princess!" Steve exclaimed, leaning over so he could see past Colonel Kubritz, who was absolutely fuming. Krel chuckled and glanced at Aja.

"That's what he calls you?" He said, grinning. He couldn't have been happier to see Steve there in that moment, and found suddenly that he was quite fond of the nickname given to his sister. Aja breathed an internal sigh of relief as Krel seemed to be perking up.

"In a moment," Kubritz growled, "he won't call you anything ever again!" She lifted the serrator and pressed another series of buttons at random, summoning a large cannon-like weapon which Aja had been unable to materialize herself.

"Kleb!" She exclaimed, glaring at the sky as though it would communicate to the universe how unfair it was that her enemy figured out her weapon before her. "How did you do that?"

Instead of answering her, Kubritz took the weapon and fired it directly at Steve, who let out a very undignified shriek. Toby threw himself at Steve with his hammer, knocking the both of them down, and just barely dodged the resulting explosion that landed the wall just behind them.

"You have a matter of _minutes _to clear yourselves from the premises, or I will have my men do it for you!" Kubritz bellowed, aiming her gun at Eli, who stood by the door with his hands in the air and shoulders hunched.

"Um, dude, we kinda took out all your men," Steve commented from underneath Toby on the floor.

""We"? I took like, 80% of them out by myself! You guys didn't even do anything!" Toby exclaimed.

"What? No way, bro, I helped!" Steve sat up to throw his hands out, effectively knocking Toby onto the floor.

"Uh, guys?" Eli said quietly, trying to get their attention. Neither seemed to have noticed him yet.

"Oh, yeah, uh-huh. You did a really good job, pushing that one guy out of the way so that _I_ could knock him out," Toby continued, lifting his hammer for evidence.

"Yeah, well-" Steve froze, brain still processing and searching for a retort.

"Guys…" Eli said again, creeping up sideways to his friends and keeping watch on Kubritz.

"Not now, Eli, I gotta- I gotta- Well, you know what, Dumbzalski-" Steve kept sputtering defensively.

"Guys! Come on!" Eli squeaked, tapping on Toby's shoulder and adding urgency to his tone of voice.

"What?" Toby asked, turning to look up.

Eli didn't answer, and didn't need to. Both Toby and Steeve looked up and froze, horrified. Kubritz stood between Krel's and Aja's beds, facing the other three people in the room with a wicked smile. She held Aja's serrator blade up to the princess's throat and a taser gun over Krel's midsection. Both Akiridion children were frozen in fear, too afraid to say anything.

"Now that I have your attention," Kubritz said slowly, "I can give you one last opportunity to make the right choice." Toby and Steve pushed away from each other and scrambled into standing positions, watching Kubritz anxiously.

"Leave this premises or I will kill your friends." To make herself clear, Kubritz pressed the blade at Aja's throat ever closer, and turned up the intensity setting on the taser. Aja glared hard at Kubritz, and Krel swallowed thickly, barely containing a whimper. He could feel the heat radiating from the gun.

"Go! We'll be fine!" Aja shouted, leaning forward as much as the blade at her throat allowed her to. Kubritz, from above her, grinned. She had the upper hand and she knew it.

"Alright! Alright. Just don't hurt her," Steve said, putting his hands up.

"Or Krel," Toby added, shaking his head. Eli, however, wasn't having any of this. He leaned over to Toby and whispered,

"We have to do something."

Steve leaned over also and responded, "I have an idea. Please don't hate me."

Confused and not even bothering to whisper, Toby turned and looked incredulously at Steve. "_What?_"

With no other explanation, Steve lunged forward to grab an enormous green and black gun resting on the floor and fired it all in one fluid motion. The aim was almost perfect and went just barely to the left of Kubritz' head. She turned on the serrator's shield and barely blocked it. But, because the two energies conflicted, an enormous explosion went off and sent her flying backwards into the wall. Both the beds in the room were thrown to the side and knocked over as well, causing both Royals to cry out.

"Aja!" Steve rushed over to aid his girlfriend, relieved to find that the restraints were actually very easy to undo from the outside. "Are you okay?" He asked her immediately, patting down her arms. "Aja? How many fingers am I holding up? What's today's date? What's the capital of Alaska?"

"I think I hit my head…" Aja said, lifting one hand to her temple and ignoring Steve's Questions. She blinked hard and then looked up at Steve. She smiled brightly. "But I'm okay. You came to rescue me." Steve took great pride in her admiration and straightened out his back.

"Always. That's what incredibly good-looking boyfriends do." Steeve grinned and stuck one arm out straight so as to create a "heroic" pose while Aja giggled.

"Aja!" Krel called out from the other side of the room. He sounded like he was crying.

"Krel!" Aja stands up and jumps over her fallen bed, pausing to take in the sight before her. Toby and Eli are busy in a hand-to-hand fight with Kubritz, attempting to wrestle the serrator from her grasp and keep her away from Krel at the same time. Aja winced and rushed behind the three of them as quickly as she could, vaulting over the other fallen bed.

"Krel! Are you alright?" Aja began to fiddle with the straps on the bed and startled when Steve jumped over the bed and landed next to her.

"Dude, what happened?" Steve asked, pointing to Krel's head. The cut that Krel had received earlier was still on his cheek, glowing a bright blue colour. But it was a larger cut on Krel's forehead that Steve was pointing out now. Aja gasped when she followed Steve's line of sight and saw the jagged cut.

"I think I hit my head.." Krel said tiredly, echoing Aja. He grunted when the restraints came undone and he fell to the floor with a quiet thump. He moved to stand up but paused when a wave of pain hit him. He whimpered and moved three of his arms to wrap protectively around his stomach.

Aja was reminded suddenly that Kubritz had probably used that taser gun on Krel and felt her anger toward the Colonel grow exponentially.

"Aja…" Krel whispered, face pain-stricken. Aja's anger melted away and was replaced by concern. She looped her arms underneath Krel's and lifted him to his feet, watching his eyes go out of focus when it caused him to be dizzy.

"Do you guys _get _concussions?" Steve asked suddenly, watching Krel warrily. It's not like he and Krel had gotten super close, but Krel was, after all, Aja's brother, and he was Aja's _little_ brother at that. This kid was too young to be getting hit in the head this hard.

"Not exactly like you, but yes." Aja answered, pulling Krel around the back side of his fallen bed while he moved a hand up to his head.

"Guys! Help!" Toby called out. Aja and Steve looked up at the same time, seeing that Eli had been pushed back and was in the process of trying to get back up, and Toby was locked onto one end of Aja's Serrator. Kubritz had the other end.

"Let go of my serrator, Kubritz!" Aja shouted, dashing over to grab on also. Steve followed after her, leaving Krel to stand unsteadily by himself. He watched the battle and blinked hard. Shifting his vision downward, he looked at his hands and realized they were all four shaking. There was an odd ringing noise growing steadily more prominent that made it hard to focus. What was he doing here again?

"Ah! Ow!"

That was Aja's voice! Krel threw his head up to search for his sister and was hit by a wave of dizziness as he did so. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision and regain his balance that he didn't know he was losing. He concentrated hard, trying to will away the ringing sound, and finally managed to find Aja. She was standing in the middle of a group of people in combat and holding her lower left wrist in pain. Following the direction from which she seemed to have pulled her wrist, he saw her serrater, and then he saw Kubritz.

Aja was hurt. Kubritz had a weapon. Krel had had enough.

Stumbling clumsily forward, Krel ran at Kubritz and grabbed hold of Aja's serrator, yanking back with all his might. To his surprise, the weapon gave way easily, and he stumbled backward with so much force that he fell flat on his back.

The ringing in his head returned full force when he hit it on the ground and he couldn't find it in himself to open his eyes again as his head began to pound and the wounds on his stomach began to hurt tenfold.

"Krel! Krel, get up!" Aja cried out, throwing herself to her knees beside her brother. Krel opened his eyes and looked up at her blearily, sitting up with a choked back sob of pain after a moment of hesitation. "You got it back." Aja said, looking at the serrator in Krel's hands and sounding surprised.

"You may have the serrator, but you will not be leaving this building anytime soon!"

Aja turned to look over her shoulder. Kubritz had pushed all three of their rescuers behind her, and now held one of her powerful guns, aimed directly at the royal siblings.

"And especially not in one piece."

A gunshot rang out.

* * *

OOF THAT IS NOT WHERE I INTENDED TO END IT. I had a whole plan for this chapter. A whole plan! Like, a lot more than just this! And some things happened that I wasn't planning to happen, so- Ahh! I was supposed to be much further along than this. Grr. But I ended up adding and plotting and expanding on EVERYTHING. Anyway, it's an update, and hopefully a good one that helps to fill in a little bit.

Initially, this wasn't even supposed to be more than a one-shot. The first chapter was supposed to be the end. I got like three people who said that they wanted more though, and when I ran it over with some friends and got positive response, that was basically all the prompting I needed. So here you go! I have biiiiig plans for future chapters. Big.

And still! Every single review I get is a cookie that Krel gets! I'll make them all special! Krel needs cookies, guys!

(Or maybe I do, I dunno. I'm craving. But they'll all be for him!)

Thank you guys for reading my story!

-LizzyLucky


	3. Chapter 3

Ha… Ha ha ha….. So, yeah, there was quite a hiatus… Not that I did that on purpose! I haven't had the same kind of motivation to write in a long time. I'm very inconsistent about writing and communicating. But I don't want this fic to flop! I don't want to give up on it, and I don't want people to show up and become invested and then be crushed when they realize it will never be updated! Because I will update it! Right now!

But I won't drag on forever about it; no one wants my silly excuses XD As always, don't forget them cookies in your reviews, and enjoy the story! (For however much you can enjoy something this whumpy)

-LizzyLucky

* * *

"No!"

"Aja!"

"Aja! Krel!"

Fiery orange and Akiridion blue clashed violently, sending up a plume of thick, grey smoke that covered the entire area. Steve, Eli, and Toby all froze, holding their breaths. It remained silent.

"The Tarrons will no longer be a threat," Kubritz said, satisfaction clear in her voice. She shifted her weight onto one foot and propped her arm on her hip, gun aimed directly up.

"No!" Steve cried out, lunging forward only to be grabbed and halted by his friends. Kubritz turned around to look at him. "You killed them!"

"Steve!" Eli exclaimed, struggling to pull the older boy back. Steve glanced back at him, his eyes already glassy, and ceased struggling. He pulled back and slumped to his knees between Eli and Toby, glaring at Kubritz.

"You killed them," he said lowly, voice quaking. Toby reached a hand up to his shoulder comfortingly.

Kubritz said nothing, the smile on her face only growing. After a moment, she sighed. "Now, what do I do with you three? A memory wipe, perhaps?"

Toby shuddered visibly. "Oh-ho-ho, no- I like my memories right where they are, thanks!"

"I see one alternative," Kubritz said, gazing up at her gun gleefully.

"You're not shooting anyone!" Steve said, stancing himself for battle.

"Yeah!" agreed Eli. "Or taking our memories!"

"We'll expose you," Toby added. "And we'll avenge our friends' deaths while we're at it!"

"Oh, really? How, exactly, do y-" Kubritz cut herself off. A humming sound filled the air, growing slowly steadier. She turned slowly around to face the thick cloud of smoke where the Akiridion siblings had been. "What on Earth-" she said slowly, squinting.

A faint, blue light began to shine through in the center of the cloud as it sank. Steve, Eli, and Toby squinted also, each of them lowering their weapons somewhat as the blue light grew more prominent.

Then, there was the tip of a shield peeking out. And then the upper half. And then as the rest of the cloud of smoke began to fade away, Aja could be seen glaring through it, Krel resting unconscious in her lap.

"They're alive," Steve said quietly.

"Aja! Krel!" Toby cheered out.

"They're alive!" Steve repeated, voice growing louder. Eli leapt forward and whooped, leaning on Steve's shoulder.

"What?" Kubritz bellowed, enraged. "How did you survive?"

Aja grinned and deactivated her shield. "It'll take more than a blast from your gun to get rid of us!" she declared.

"Yeah-ha-ha! You tell 'er, Aja!" Steve cheered. He jumped to his feet and threw out a fist in cheer.

Kubritz paid no heed to Steve or the other two boys behind her. She kept her glare focused on Aja and Krel instead, seething. "And a second blast? A third?" Wasting no time, she aimed her gun again and fired. Aja shrieked and threw her shield up again, just barely managing to block it out. Another, larger, plume of smoke rose into the air, obscuring everyone's view and spreading throughout the room. Aja could be heard coughing behind her serrator's shield, and Kubritz from behind her hand.

"Oh no," Toby whispered, grabbing onto Steve's arm and shaking him. Steve huffed and yanked his arm free.

"I have another idea," he whispered. Toby looked at him skeptically but listened anyway as Steve leaned over and whispered his idea to him. Eli leaned over also, taking in every word.

"Where are you?" Kubritz demanded, walking forward into the plume of smoke. She disappeared from sight as she stomped around, searching for the Akiridions.

Aja had moved. She hefted her now unconscious brother to what she assumed was the back corner of the room and propped him up there before feeling her way back to her spot and readying herself to confront Kubritz.

"I know you're here!" Kubritz said from Aja's left. "I can hear the hum of your serrator."

Aja glanced quickly to her serrator and then back to her left. The low humming noise it made would give her away, but better that Kubritz found her than Krel.

"Neither you nor your brother can simply get away," Kubritz drawled, this time from behind Aja. Aja spun around quickly, struggling to keep her breathing under control. In the smoke everything she did felt directionless. She couldn't see at all and felt like she was being stalked by a predator.

"We're not trying to get away," she spoke slowly, holding her serrator's blade in front of her. She spun slightly to face whichever direction she heard Kubritz' footsteps. "We're trying to defeat you."

"Really?" Kubritz said, sounding delighted. "How amusing! I suppose you think you can just send me packing? Think you could shut down my entire operation? How?"

An orange blast shot in from Aja's right, and she scrambled to switch to her shield and block it. She was knocked back onto her feet and overwhelmed with smoke, choking her. Before she could get back to her feet, Kubritz walked up to her from the front, glowering down and no longer appearing amused in any way.

"You won't even be able to leave this room alive. I doubt you'll get very far with that plan of yours."

Aja gaped up at her and drew in a breath as Kubritz' weapon began charging up for another shot.

"Not so fast!" Steve came charging in from behind Kubritz, Eli following beside him. Steve lunged at Kubritz' right arm and- missed. He fell flat on the floor with an "oomph!", and a loud thud.

"Steve?" Eli skidded to a stop and glanced at Steve questioningly.

"I know, I know," Steve grunted, pushing himself up onto his hands. Kubritz turned half way around and cocked an eyebrow at the two, her weapon's charge fading.

"And just what do you think you're-"

"NOW!" Steve cried, leaping to his feet and latching onto Kubritz' arm. Eli nodded and launched forward, latching onto her other arm and lifting his feet off the ground to hang off of her.

"Agh! Get off!" Kubritz bellowed. Her weapon clattered to the floor and several feet away, and her entire weight shifted forward and down.

"Never!" Steve declared smugly.

"Alright, Steve!" Aja cheered, a grin splitting her face. Steve glanced at her and gave her a wink just before he began to really dig his feet into the ground. Kubritz let out a shout, her weight being pulled in his direction and her feet sliding together unsteadily.

Aja startled at a tap on her shoulder. Whipping around quickly, she breathed a sigh of relief to find Toby standing at her right side. He leaned over and said, very quietly,

"While she's distracted, let's get you and Krel out of here!"

"But what about you guys?" Aja said worriedly, glancing between Toby and Kubritz.

Toby huffed. "Psh, we'll be fine. We've faced tougher than this. Besides, it's not us she wants; you and Krel _have_ to get to safety," he insisted. Aja opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. Her brother's safety came first. She nodded and Toby gestured toward the back corner where Krel sat. The smoke was beginning to settle at this point and the younger Akiridion could be seen leaning against the wall, still unconscious, as they approached him.

"No!" Kubritz cried out, her voice shaking with anger. "My specimen!" She leaned forward, yanking against both Steve and Eli in a frenzied attempt to reach Aja and Krel.

"Oh no, oh no!" Steve grunted. His feet began to slide against the ground as Kubritz pulled forward, her determination rendering his efforts useless. "Don't let go!" he told Eli.

Eli was still hanging off of Kubritz' arm, which had sunk to the ground and simply dragged him along. "I'm not!" he called back. He tried to dig his feet into the ground also, but it proved completely ineffective.

"Any time now, Toby!" Steve ground out. He continued to dig in his feet, trying to run them backwards, but Kubritz continued to pull forward, nearly knocking him over.

Toby glanced at Aja, who bit her lip nervously, and then drew his hammer. "I've got this!" he called over his shoulder as he leapt into the air. He pulled his hammer back and, wincing as he did so, swung it at the side of Kubritz' head.

Without so much as a shout, Kubritz immediately fell limp, completely knocked out. Steve and Eli both let go and slumped to their knees as soon as she had, breathing heavily.

"Oh, man," Eli said, putting a hand to his temple. "She's strong!"

"You're telling me," Steve said, leaning back onto his hands and huffing. "How much weight training does that lady do?!"

Toby walked up to them and offered out each of his hands. Both were taken and he leaned back to help pull his friends to their feet, the three nodding at each other as they regained their bearings.

"Oh no," Aja said quietly from the corner of the room. Toby, Steve, and Eli all looked over to find her kneeling next to Krel, two hands covering her mouth.

"What? What's wrong?" Steve asked, jogging over. He came to a halt and grimaced. "Oh."

"Woah!" Eli exclaimed as he caught up. "What happened to his legs?"

Krel's legs looked mangled. Burns ran through his suit, through his skin, and revealed vivid, glowing blue energy-based material underneath. Raw cuts and scrapes and bruises seemed to litter every inch of exposed skin, and there were pieces of shrapnel, including one particularly large chunk of... something, embedded in his skin around his ankles.

"Gotta be honest," Toby muttered, grimacing also, "not looking too good."

"I wasn't thinking about his legs when I pulled out my shield. They must have been exposed to the blasts," Aja explained, sounding guilty. "I should have been more careful."

"Hey," Steve said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault. It happened, now we just gotta try and fix it."

Aja smiled a little. "Thanks, Steve," she said fondly, resting one of her hands on top of his.

A clang was heard out in the hallway, followed immediately by what sounded like a group of people running. Eli walked over to the door and stood on the tips of his toes to look out the little window.

"Uh, guys," he said, his voice pitching nervously, "I think we have a problem."

"What?" Toby asked, stretching to try and see over Eli's shoulder.

"There's a _ton _of guards out there!" Eli said. As he did, something crashed into the other side of the door, pushing him back. "Oh no!" he yelped. He immediately pressed himself back against the door in time with another slam from the other side.

"Aghh," Toby groaned loudly. He jogged over and joined Eli in pushing back against the doors. "I knew we should have checked the South entrance!"

Steve looked quickly between Aja and the door before making up his mind. "You guys have to get out of here," he said, jogging over to join Toby and Eli. Another slam came from the other side, this time louder.

"Steve!" Aja exclaimed.

"They're in here!" someone cried from the hallways.

"The Hazmat guys blocked all the exits last I checked, so you'll have to go to the roof," Toby said. "You gotta go!"

Aja bit her lip, hesitating. She couldn't leave them here, but Krel needed her more than they did. She glanced down at her little brother and then decided it would be better to go.

"Hey, don't worry," Steve said. Aja pulled out her hoverboard and threw it to the floor, then looked up at him. "We'll hold them off," he said, grunting as the door was slammed into again. Aja grinned and nodded.

"Alright, little brother," she said breathlessly, kneeling next to Krel. She lifted him bridal style and propped his head against her shoulder before stepping onto her hoverboard, which wobbled a little at the weight. She directed it to the door where her friends were and paused in front of Steve. "My warrior oaf," she hummed, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. Steve seemed to melt a little and gave her a dopey grin.

"Get outta here," he said. Aja grinned, then nodded her goodbye and urged the hoverboard quickly forward and away from the action.

As she sped out and into the hallways, in search of a way to the roof, Krel shifted and groaned in her arms, slowly coming to consciousness. "Just hang in there, Krel," she whispered, bringing a hand up to his cheek.

"Aja?" he questioned quietly, his eyes opening a crack. Aja looked down at him, relief flooding her senses, and smiled reassuringly.

The lights all fizzled out above them and Aja pulled to a rough stop. Krel let out a startled yelp when electricity crackled through the hallway and then went dark. A figure dropped heavily onto the floor at the end of the hallway and let out a raspy chuckle.

"Tronos!" Aja exclaimed. With a grunt of effort, she spun the hoverboard around and took off racing in the other direction, Tronos following close behind.

"Aja, what's happening?" Krel asked, trying to sit up in Aja's arms. He gasped and fell limp again, body shuddering as different pains caught up with him. He realized for the first time that his legs looked and felt completely destroyed. "My legs-"

Aja, ignoring Krel for the time being, skid to another abrupt stop as she caught sight of a door with the image of a staircase on it. Above the image was written the word 'roof'. "Aha!" she exclaimed. She threw the door open as quickly as she could and ducked low so the hoverboard could fit them both as they flew up the stairs.

As they burst through the door at the top of the steps, Aja let out a whoop. "We made it! Now we just have to get down and go home!"

Before she could do anything else, Aja felt her hoverboard yanked away from under her feet. "Oh no!"

"Going somewhere?" said a menacing voice. Aja and Krel both toppled to the floor, rolling over each other. Krel let out a pained cry as he landed, and it was all Aja could do to get him back into her arms and herself back onto her feet.

"Tronos," Aja gasped, watching the bounty hunter huck her hoverboard away. "You're working with the wrong people." She took an unsteady step back, Krel watching Tronos nervously from her arms. "Colonel Kubritz is _using_ you. Please, _help us,"_ she begged. She took another step back and then froze, almost stumbling over the apparent edge of the building.

Tronos barked out a harsh laugh. "Help?" he scoffed. "When my planet was besieged by war, we begged House Tarron for help! When we needed help the most, they left Voltar to _burn."_ He spit the last words, enraged with the idea.

Krel scowled. "Our parents would never do that!" The look he gave Aja, however, finished for him, '_would they?'_

Aja gave Krel a forlorn look. "Mama and Papa didn't help Varvatos' family either," she pointed out. Krel shook his head and looked away from her, refusing to believe that their parents had been anything but perfect rulers.

"Don't believe his lies, Aja," he said.

Tronos laughed, his voice airy and rough. "I would have ended the king and queen myself if I had the chance," he said, taking a step slowly in their direction. Aja swallowed and fumbled with her lower hands to grab her serrator. "But I'll settle for the two of you."

Aja yelped and pulled up her serrator's shield to cover both she and Krel as Tronos opened his mouth to fire on them. She began gasping in uneven breaths as she struggled to activate her blaster, eyes darting panickedly between Tronos' electric charge and Krel, who seemed to be becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Focus, Aja," Krel said, seeming to read her anxiousness.

Aja shook her head roughly to clear her mind, and then activated her blaster, working as quickly as she could to fire it on Tronos. "Stay away from our school!" she cried as it fired.

The blast went over Tronos' shoulder, easily missing him but causing him to drop his charged blast. He chuckled lowly and took another step forward. "You'll have to be a quicker shot than that."

Aja chuckled nervously and offered a quirky grin as Tronos got closer, nearly forcing her off the edge of the roof. She would have opened her mouth to say something or try reasoning with him again, but instead froze when something blue caught in the corner of her eye.

"What is that?" she asked, squinting to see what it was.

"It works," Krel said breathlessly. "It's coming back!"

Coming back? Aja quirked her brow in confusion and then realized, as the blue item got closer, that it was her hoverboard. "That?" she exclaimed. "That's what it does?"

Krel grinned and laughed, opening his mouth to say something. He was cut off when the hoverboard crashed into the back of Tronos' head, knocking him forward and almost into Krel and Aja. Aja shrieked and reactivated her shield just in time for Tronos to crash into it. Grunting with the effort, she bent her knees and then used all her strength to launch Tronos the other way, off the roof. He fell to the ground with a loud crash and then seemed to fall silent.

Aja listened for the bounty hunter, and then leapt away from the edge excitedly when she heard nothing. "Woo hoo! Krel, we did it!" With a grin splitting her face, she looked down at Krel to see his reaction. Her smile immediately fell. "Krel?"

Krel groaned. He had his head pressed into the crook of Aja's elbow and his eyes shut tight, his entire form half-limp. "Can we go home, now, Aja?" he asked, his voice raspy.

"Yeah. Of course. Let's go," Aja said softly. With a glance over her shoulder, she stepped carefully up onto her hoverboard and began making her way to the opposite end of the roof.

"_I'm not done with you!"_

Tronos, having leapt into the air, landed earth-quakingly just in front of Aja. Aja crashed into his front and fell to her back on the ground, barely keeping hold of her hoverboard and her brother. Krel gasped as they landed, rolling several feet away from Aja.

Pain exploded in Krel's legs and stomach, shocking him to alertness. "What exactly _happened_ to my legs?!" he exclaimed, his voice quivering.

"I'll explain later," Aja replied, not breaking eye contact with Tronos. She yelped as he spun around and swung his tail at her. She rolled away from him and then jumped to her feet, inactive serrator in hand. "Agh!' she grunted, ducking another swipe from Tronos as she tried to get her serrator to turn on. "It's not working!"

"Use mine!" Krel said. From his spot on the ground, he reached for his serrator and tossed it to Aja, who immediately turned on its blaster and shot at Tronos.

"To the left!" Krel shouted, watching Tronos warrily. "Right! Left! No, no, no! _Aim_, Aja! Aim!"

Krel was using his hands to drag himself back as Tronos began to run at them. Aja grunted with every blast of the serrator, taking slow steps backward and glancing at Krel every other second. They were both at the edge of the roof once more and Tronos was gaining on them. An in-the-moment thought occurred to Aja and she let out a frustrated shout.

"Aja?" Krel questioned. She scooped him up in her arms again, much to his dislike, then used one of her free hands to grab her hoverboard. She leaned over the edge of the roof, checking how far down it was, and then looked over her shoulder at a fast approaching Tronos.

"Hold on! I have an idea!" she told Krel.

Krel's eyes widened and he shook his head, clinging ever tighter to his sister. "No, Aja, don't-!"

Aja leapt over the edge of the roof and activated the serrator's shield underneath she and Krel. They landed harshly on the ground betwixt a cluster of bushes, the serrator deactivating as they landed, and tumbled to a slow stop. Aja landed on her back and Krel on his stomach.

"Aja," Krel whimpered, sitting up slowly. He had his arms wrapped around his stomach, and he stared wide-eyed at his legs, his expression reading shock and pain. "I hate your ideas."

"I'm sorry," Aja apologized. She crawled over to him and put a hand under his chin, lifting it to examine his face. She grimaced at the cuts on his cheek and forehead, which seemed to be making no progress healing. "I promise we'll fix this. At least we survived the fall?"

A beam of electricity shot through into the bushes and just barely missed the two, each letting out a terrified yelp as it sprayed them with dirt.

"When I'm done with you," Tronos bellowed, dropping to the ground in front of them, "you'll wish you hadn't!" He shot another beam of electricity at them, and Aja had to grab Krel by the shoulders and dive over the top of his head to pull them both away in time. They both landed on their backs with a thump, knocking the air out of their lungs.

"Krel, move!" Aja cried breathlessly. She sat upright and leapt away as Tronos shot another blast of electricity. Krel managed to just barely avoid it by rolling quickly to his left, gasping as the blast hit the ground and sent dirt flying again.

Tronos wheezed out a laugh, eyeing Krel in the moment they both realized Aja wasn't there to protect him.

"Um…" Krel laughed nervously and used his arms to drag himself slowly backwards while Tronos approached him. He hissed every time his legs were jostled or hit a bump in the ground.

"No big sister," Tronos mused, a sickening grin widening on his face as he paced forward. "No _serrator_," he hummed, licking his lips. "No… _legs-"_ He chuckled, lowering his head so his eyes were level with Krel's. "No way out."

Krel's back met the wall of the school building and he gasped. "Unless, uh-heh, you let me go," he mumbled with a small, nervous smile. Tronos reared back to fire at him again and Krel put his arms up over his head with a terrified shout.

"No!" Aja cried. She'd just sat up and caught sight of the scene, leaping to her feet and pulling out both serrators. She held one up and aimed it at Tronos, then tried to activate its blaster- and it didn't work, fizzling out with a small buzz of electricity. "Kleb! _Krel!"_

Aja was just raising the other serrator when Tronos let out a pained roar and fell to the ground. A wave of green energy seemed to race through his body, strangely off-putting to his own natural glow, and he let out a low groan before his eyes closed. Behind him stood-

"Kubritz!" Aja growled. She turned the serrator instead toward the Colonel. Krel, still sitting on the ground against the wall, clenched his teeth and looked nervously at Aja.

"Drop the serrators and put your hands in the air," demanded Kubritz. She held a neurometer in her hand, which she pointed to the ground once she was sure Tronos was well and truly disarmed. She walked up to the bounty hunter briskly, then knelt next to him and ground out, "I said you'll get your cores when I'm done. Not before!" She shoved him roughly away from her for good measure, then barked at the hazmatted guards behind her, "Throw him in the van."

The guards rushed forward without hesitation and grabbed Tronos by each front limb, dragging him toward the back exit of the school.

Aja growled and activated the serrator's blaster. "We've had enough of you! Leave us alone!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kubritz said. She smiled at Aja pleasantly as she lifted her neurometer and pointed it at Krel, who sucked in a breath of air and bit his lip. "If you fire that blaster, I'll kill your brother. I only need one specimen. If you want to remain two in number, I suggest you put down the serrators and give yourselves up."

"No, Aja, don't listen to her!" Krel said, looking at Aja pleadingly. Kubritz' smile faded and she took a stop forward to press the barrel of the neurometer to Krel's chest. Krel cried out and closed his eyes tightly, looking away from the offending weapon.

"Now, _alien!_ You surrender _now_ or you lose your brother!" She shoved the neurometer more harshly into Krel's chest, forcing him to exhale sharply.

Krel choked back another cry of terror and glanced at Aja, who gave him a defeated look. He mouthed the word 'no' and shook his head vehemently.

"Clock's ticking! Make your choice!" To make her point, Kubritz pushed the barrel of the gun still further into Krel's chest and he wheezed painfully. Spots began to dance at the edges of his vision.

"No!" Aja cried, taking a step forward and holding out her hand, her feet faltering. She sucked in a heavy breath, eyes beginning to water with frustration at her own indecision.

"Aw," Kubritz said mockingly, tilting her head at Aja as though in sympathy. "Don't cry. I'm sure you'll find our _detention center_ quite comfortable."

A bright white light shone over them from the right, drawing the attention of all three.

"Hey!"

The light turned off abruptly to reveal its source; being Steve on his vespa, and Eli riding on the passenger seat. Behind them stood Aaarrrgghh!, with Toby on his shoulder.

"The only one who gets to send Aja and Krel to detention," said Steve, "is my dad! I mean, Coach! Uh… Coach-dad? I mean- Gah!"

"The point is," interrupted Toby, "we're not letting you take them!"

Aaarrrgghh! let out a roar and took off at a charge in Kubritz' direction, Steve revving up his vespa's engine and following closely behind with a bat in hand.

Kubritz yanked the neurometer harshly away from Krel and aimed it instead at the oncoming group of attackers. She fired a blast at Steve's vespa and managed to hit the front tire, causing it to swerve out of control.

"Ohhh, no!" Steve shrieked as his bike was brought to an abrupt stop. The back end leapt off the ground and threw both he and Eli off of it and into the grass, before the entire bike fell on its side and shut off. "My vespa!"Steve yelped, rolling onto his hands and knees.

"Never mind that, Steve, we gotta get Krel and Aja!" Eli said. He used Steve's shoulder to push himself to his feet and then took off running. Steve huffed indignantly before he stood up and took off after him.

"Leave friends alone!" Aaarrrgghh! roared. He swung his fists down into the ground directly in front of Kubritz. The colonel lost her balance and fell to the ground with a startled yelp, dropping her weapon along the way.

"Ha!" Eli cried triumphantly, grabbing the neurometer off the ground and pulling it away from Kubritz.

"Nice," Steve commented, catching up with Eli. He offered up his hand for a high-five, which he got, and continued to watch Kubritz. "Not so high and mighty now, huh?"

"You forget," Kubritz said slyly, "that you're outnumbered."

"What?" Toby said from on top of Aaarrrgghh!.

Kubritz snapped her fingers, and from the halls leading into the school a dozen hazmatted workers came rushing out, each brandishing a neurometer of their own. Steve groaned in exasperation.

"How many of you are there?!"

"Let's not stick around to find out!" Toby called. "Aja, Krel, come on!" Aaarrrgghh! kept one massive fist hovering over Kubritz while he offered the other to Aja, who had crept back over to Krel.

"No, it's okay! We'll use my hoverboard!" Aja said. She quickly pulled out and reactivated her hoverboard, then bent over to pick Krel back up and step onto it.

"Uh, I'll take that ride!" Steve said, his voice filled with panic. He leapt up onto Aaarrrgghh!'s back before Toby could protest and then pointed to the group of approaching guards.

"Me too!" Eli added.

"Let's go!" Toby said, urging Aaarrrgghh! towards the school's entrance. Aaarrrgghh! spun around and scooped Eli up into his hand, then began to sprint away from the scene. Aja followed quickly behind them, with Krel in her arms.

"After them!" Kubritz called. From another hallway to their left a number of guards began to spill out and follow.

"Faster, Aaarrrgghh!" Toby cried, leaning over and patting the troll's shoulder. Aaarrrgghh! grunted in acknowledgement and pushed himself to run faster, panting heavily as he did so.

Aja watched their pursuers over her shoulder, grimacing at the sight of dozens of hazmatted workers running at them, Kubritz in the middle of it all and lit by dozens of neurometers' green glows. The wicked smile on Kubritz' face and the inhuman glow in her eyes would be the image Aja had of that woman for the rest of her life. She shuddered.

As they reached the front doors, Aja could see a group of students and the coach step out in front of the Base 49-B workers and their Colonel, stopping them short and completely blocking their path.

"What is going on here? You lied to me once, and now…"

The rest of Coach's speech drowned out as they finally made it out of the school, speeding away as quickly as they could toward the Mothership. Aja had never thought the cool air or the Earth's dark, evening sky were more wonderful than in this moment, and she took her first full, deep breath since earlier that morning.

"Aja?" Krel mumbled. Aja looked down at him and realized he was trembling something awful. "It hurts," he said. He grit his teeth and buried his head in the crook of her elbow, grasping onto her as though letting go would kill him. Aja thought her core might shatter right then and there.

"I know," she said softly. "Just hang in there, we're almost safe, little brother. It's going to be okay."

At least, she hoped it would.

* * *

I mean, to be honest, I dunno how good that was XD I haven't done any serious writing in a while thanks to… things, but I spent like 3 days going over and over and over this, and I think I'm as satisfied as I'm going to be with it. My brain's a little mushy now, but I hope y'all liked it XD

-LizzyLucky


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